Lexi (167:26)
Today's Archives topic is the Irids. Irid, short for Iridescent, is the name of the previously unknown Seventh Den of dragons. They do not reside on the continent, aside from our beloved Andarna, and hundreds of them live on an isle unoccupied by humans. Irids are characterized by their ability to shift their scale color to completely blend into their surroundings, and they can choose which color they want to be, including like the resting color in Andarna's case, she chose black, which appeared to offend the other Irids. This is probably because black dragons are known to be battle dragons, which goes against everything the Irids stand for. Their ability to shift colors like a chameleon gives them a major advantage in stealth because they can become seemingly invisible. Irids have also chosen not to pick a tail like we've come to know other dragons on the continent do. Irids stay feathertails, which makes sense because they are packed pacifists. They hold peace in the highest regard and do not want to be involved in war. The only exception is Andarna, whose egg was left behind as a test when the Irids abandoned the continent. A large majority of this test was for the humans to measure their growth and ability to choose tranquility and harmony with all living things. The Irids had hoped that Andarna would return to the Seventh Den, informing them that the humans had evolved, that they had blossomed under the Wardstones and no longer used magic as a weapon. But based on what they find out from Andarna and Violet, they do not believe society has learned their lesson. They believe that the signet bond between dragon and rider are used as a weaponization of magic. And since Violet and subsequently Andarna failed their test, Andarna is not worthy of being an Irid, which means she does not get entrance to their Isle or instructions in their ways, stating she is an Irid in scale and name only. Of the six IRIDs we've met on the Isle, they all rival Sigail in size. So not quite the size of Tern, the second largest dragon on the continent in it, but far above the average dragon size. Turns out Irides are just as arrogant as the other dragon dens. Though they are rudely polite and will even apologize to another dragon, they do not bond with humans and choose not to live with them, believing that the signets that the dragons gave their riders are weapons and extremely dangerous. Especially both of Violet's signets. IR its believe that if they do nothing to help the continent now, that the Venin will eventually starve from lack of magic and will either die die off, allowing the land to regenerate, or the Venom will have to confront the abominations they've become and change. Speaking of magic, Irides don't just have magic, they are magic. According to Andarna, magic feels different when she changes colors, but we don't yet understand how this affects her abilities. We do learn from Andarna's experience that Irides are able to roast at least a some Venin when she changes color, in this case to black. But since this has only happened once, when Andarna roasted the venom back an iron flame, we don't know any more details about this yet. Hopefully IRS are also able to communicate directly into a human's mind. This happens when a slide whistle sound goes off in the person's head, pitching from low to painfully high in less than a heartbeat. This slide whistle sound also triggers a venom's eyes to shine bright red, which exposes them to whoever is around. The Ophani calls Andarna, or more specifically the Irides, a prize. We can assume this is due to the sheer amount and type of magic they possess and why the Venom want one so badly. But again, that is just our assumption there. Talking about bonds for Irids. Since Irids are magic, they can bend, shape and even break bonds as they see fit. An example of this is shielding bonds between a rider and their own Dragon Violet makes the comparison that this feeling is oddly similar to the effects of the RSC serum. Only an Irid is able to become the second bonded dragon to a rider, as humans should only be capable of bonding to one single dragon. And if that rider has active second bond like Violet, once the Irid breaks the bond, the rider can continue living because the other dragon will sustain their life. But it is still an extremely painful process, both physically and emotionally. In the process of severing the bond, there is a shrieking whistle sound followed by sudden silence. When reaching for the bond, it'll feel like being blocked by a wall before ultimately turning into nothing. During the war, the seventh Dragon Den helped light the Besgaeth Wardstone, but left shortly afterward because they abhorred society's violent ways. When mentioning the wards, the Irids do say Ward Stones, plural, like we were discussing earlier. This could imply that at one point more than just the best Gaeth Wardstone was lit. But we do not know that until Andarna. No Irid has been seen on the continent since the Great War. Only the Dragon Elders, including Kota of the Black Dragon Den, have known that Andarna is of the seventh dragon breed. It is that much of a secret among even the dragons. Irid dragon shells are hard metallic, and while the exact size is unknown, the chunks Violet had could hold a medium sized dog. Its shades of color graduate from the darkest onyx on bottom to the brightest silvers on top, like the COVID of this book, with each ring of hardened scales nestled within the next, yet never separate, creating a smooth outer layer with no ridges that only cracks. When the hatchling is ready to round out this archive segment on Irids, let's talk about the very few Irids that we know of. Andarna, of course. And then of the six Irids on the aisles, we only learn two names. Jason, who is one of the females. And then we have Leothen, or who, as I called for the longest time, Leonard, he is a distant relative of Andarna's from the same line because they have the same spiral patterns on their horns. And that, friends, is what we know so far about the Irides, which I'm sure this will definitely need a refresher. Part 2 Part 3 as we continue.
